May 27, 2011
Illinois

Couple speaks against turbines; Ask for six-month moratorium on wind ordinance

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL, Commercial-News, commercial-news.com 26 May 2011

DANVILLE – The most outspoken opponents of the local ordinance for wind farms had their say before members of the county board on Thursday.

Darrell and Kim Cambron, who live near Rankin, were given a 45-minute period to state their case against the current wind farm ordinance, which was passed by the county on Jan. 20, 2009. The couple spoke to members of the county board executive and legislation committee.

Among the suggestions is a six-month moratorium on the ordinance while the facets of it are looked over.

Kim Cambron said through their suggestions to change the ordinance, county board members are willing to sit down at the table again and discuss the wind ordinance.

“So we have the time to protect our county and everyone in it,” she said.

Also suggested by the Cambrons was a property value guarantee for farmers who sign on to have a wind turbine placed on their property and an amendment calling for a member of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to monitor fatalities suffered by the Indiana bat species as a result of the wind farm.

Also part of the presentation was a movie from the group Illinois Wind Watch regarding the adverse effect of wind farms in communities including Marshfield, Wis., and in Livingston County, among others.

No action was taken by committee members at Thursday’s meeting. County board chairman Jim McMahon said the county’s legal counsel, Bill Donahue, will look over the Cambrons’ statements to see what can and cannot be done with regard to the ordinance.

Vermilion County already has taken one step into the wind farm market, with GDF SUEZ Energy North America Inc., which is based in Houston, Texas, purchasing a $47,000 permit in February for the construction of more than 40 wind turbines in the Hoopeston Wind Farm project.

The project calls for the construction of 43 wind turbines along a stretch reaching from around 3 miles east of Illinois Route 49 to the area near the Hubbard Trail Country Club north of Rossville.

The company asked to put the project on hold in early April. At least three other companies have expressed interest in constructing wind farms in Vermilion County in recent years.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/05/27/couple-speaks-against-turbines-ask-for-six-month-moratorium-on-wind-ordinance/